Changing Disparities in Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Burden in the Ethnically Homogeneous Population of Hong Kong Through Pandemic Waves: An Observational Study. (6th January 2021)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Yang, Bingyi; Wu, Peng; Lau, Eric H Y; Wong, Jessica Y; Ho, Faith; Gao, Huizhi; Xiao, Jingyi; Adam, Dillon C; Ng, Tiffany W Y; Quan, Jianchao; Tsang, Tim K; Liao, Qiuyan; Cowling, Benjamin J; Leung, Gabriel M
• Is Part Of: Clinical infectious diseases. Volume 73:Number 12(2021)
• Page Start: 2298
• Page End: 2305
• Publication Date: 2021-01-06
• Subjects: COVID-19 -- disparities -- socioeconomic -- intervention -- work from home; Communicable diseases -- Periodicals; 616.905
• DOI: 10.1093/cid/ciab002
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1058-4838

Abstract

Abstract: Background: Disparities were marked in previous pandemics, usually with higher attack rates reported for those in lower socioeconomic positions and for ethnic minorities. Methods: We examined characteristics of laboratory-confirmed coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases in Hong Kong, assessed associations between incidence and population-level characteristics at the level of small geographic areas, and evaluated relations between socioeconomics and work-from-home (WFH) arrangements. Results: The largest source of COVID-19 importations switched from students studying overseas in the second wave to foreign domestic helpers in the third. The local cases were mostly individuals not in formal employment (retirees and homemakers) and production workers who were unable to WFH. For every 10% increase in the proportion of population employed as executives or professionals in a given geographic region, there was an 84% (95% confidence interval [CI], 1–97%) reduction in the incidence of COVID-19 during the third wave. In contrast, in the first 2 waves, the same was associated with 3.69 times (95% CI, 1.02–13.33) higher incidence. Executives and professionals were more likely to implement WFH and experienced frequent changes in WFH practice compared with production workers. Conclusions: Consistent findings on the reversed socioeconomic patterning of COVID-19 burden between infection waves in Hong Kong in both individual- and population-level analyses indicated that risks of infections may be related to occupations involving high exposure frequency and WFH flexibility. Contextual determinants should be taken into account in policy planning aiming at mitigating such disparities. Abstract : Disparities in COVID-19 burden in Hong Kong suggested that the risk of infection may be associated with frequencies of occupation-related general exposure and the flexibility of arranging working from home in the population.